Aug 15, 2008

Oates: 'Life' in music

After years of pop music success, artist releases Americana-flavored solo album.

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

After decades of pop stardom, many musicians coast on past successes. John Oates is a remarkable exception.

With recording partner Daryl Hall, he has notched 10 No. 1 hits and sold more than 80 million albums. But Oates' new solo album, "1000 Miles of Life," demonstrates that this is an artist now hitting his creative prime, and major labels are buzzing around this uplifting work.

"You wonder what you have to give up and what they're actually able to do for you," said Oates of the labels. "It's a weird time in the music business."

Oates says he's on the fence about whether to use a major or an independent label to release his album. "It's an interesting dilemma. The last five Hall & Oates albums have all been released independently. We're quite comfortable with doing that," he said.

This is Oates' second solo album. The first was released in 2001. "The first one I made because I felt that, having been in the business so long, I needed to make a record. It was a collection of older songs. This album was a focused effort, writing songs specifically for this project."

A reflective period resulted in "1000 Miles of Life." "I was on an incredible writing inspirational roll. I haven't been the most prolific person over the years," Oates said, but from August until December of 2007, he just kept writing. "A lot of things had happened in my life. Some people very close to me passed away, people who were influential to me, musically and personally."

That loss brought Oates an enhanced appreciation for life. "You don't want to stand by the wayside as things pass you by. It's very important to be aware of what's happening and to live in the moment," he said. "That was the gist of the title song. It seemed to sum up the feeling of the album."

Oates said he went to a place creatively where he had never been before. "Once that started happening, I didn't want it to end. I wanted to carry it over to the recording process. I thought if I could sustain that energy, bring it into the studio, something really magical could happen. And it did.

"I wanted to make a record that was representative of where I am today, as a writer and as a man."

Such elite musicians as Steve Cropper, Jerry Douglas, Bonnie Bramlett and Blind Boys of Alabama enthusiastically joined Oates' sessions.

"These songs are so personal and organic, I felt the best place to record (the album) would be Nashville. Musicians there are really used to working with lyrics. After all, country music is all about the story."

To tell these compelling musical tales, Oates drew on folk, blues and gospel influences. "I started as a traditional Americana-type player. (That) was something I left behind over the years, with all the pop success of Hall & Oates. So I wanted to tap back into that."

The new album deserves widespread attention. "The Hall & Oates fans have been incredibly loyal. They form the core," Oates said, "but I felt that there was another world out there. People who like Americana and lots of other kinds of music might really like this record."

To hear all the Hall & Oates hits, catch the duo at Mountain Winery on Aug. 18. But to preview the stirring new Oates solo tunes, head for Redwood City's Little Fox Theatre on Aug. 19. It's a rare opportunity to share an intimate experience with this artist.

"I try to put the whole career into perspective. I play some of the really old Hall & Oates songs, stuff from the 'Abandoned Luncheonette' album. ... I'll play a couple of '80s songs, but I put them into a totally different context. I tell the stories behind them. Everybody knows 'Maneater.' You've probably heard (the song) more times than any human being needs to hear it. But no one knows who it was written about, why or how it was written. So I tell those stories."

Oates will take an acoustic approach at the Little Fox, backed by percussion and bass. "It's very real," he said. "With Hall & Oates, we've had to introduce new songs judiciously, because people want to hear what's familiar to them. But these new songs seem to communicate immediately. People are really responding, which is incredibly encouraging to me."

"1000 Miles of Life" is a product of 35 years of songwriting and performing. "There's a certain quality of classicism to something that can be incredibly complex, yet sounds very simple. You can't achieve that without a great deal of experience. ... The mark of someone really professional is to make it appear effortless. The timbre of this record is grown-up. It's a record of maturity, of balance."

The balance Oates has strived for is evident in his personal life, as well. "That has everything to do with my family, my wife and son. That changed my whole way of thinking. Music had been my whole life. When I finally settled down in the early '90s - got remarried, had a kid, built a house - all of a sudden, music became part of my life, as opposed to being all of it."

The album should bring even greater acclaim to the music portion of Oates' life. "To make a record like this was a major step for me," he said. "A lot of people over the years chalked Hall & Oates up to being this hit-making machine, novelty power-pop guys who had their hits and were nothing more than that. I think that's very unfair."

The Hall & Oates catalog includes hundreds of appealing songs. "Even though (those songs are) in the pop genre, they're good songs, well-crafted. So I always felt that there was a credibility factor that was a missing little component in my life. I felt that I needed to make a record that addressed that. I wanted to show people that there was substance to my ability to write songs and to my personality that was above and beyond the mega-hits."